The Development of the Byzantine Solidus Pg. 5

In the seventh century military dress fell out of fashion and was replaced by either civil or consular dress. Civil dress consisted of the chlamys, a cloak similar in appearance to the paludamentum, which was fastened at the right shoulder with a distinctive fibula incorporating three hanging pendants. The chlamys was first introduced under Heraclius (A.D. 610-41) in the early seventh century and became the pre-eminent form of imperial dress used on solidi during the seventh century (no. 135). The consular type of costume was based on a revival of the distinctive toga-like dress originally worn by holders of the office of consul. With the demise of this office in the sixth century, the characteristic dress, known as the loros, had fallen out of use until it was revived at the end of the seventh century under Justinian II. The loros was a long piece of ornately embroidered and decorated cloth that was wrapped around the body in a complicated fashion (e.g. no. 144). After its revival by Justinian II, the loros, together with the chlamys, became the customary form of imperial dress used on solidi. Around the middle of the tenth century, a modified form of the loros was introduced. Instead of being wrapped around the body, the loros hangs down vertically in front of the body with a hole being cut in the cloth for the head (e.g. no. 147). As a result the decorative design on the cloth appears as a series of regular squares rather than as the criss-crossed pattern of lozenges found on the older style of loros.

In addition to the particular forms of imperial dress, imperial portraits were distinguished by the inclusion of the insignia of office. These insignia were emblematic in function and were intended to serve as symbols of imperial power and authority. The most frequently depicted item of insignia was the globus cruciger, first adopted in an imperial portrait by Justinian I (no. 132). This consisted of a globe surmounted by a cross. The globe was a symbol of sovereignty and had been included in imperial portraits during the Roman period in order to represent the world over which the emperor ruled. The addition of the cross in the Byzantine period was intended to represent the idea that the emperor received his authority directly from God and that it was through God's grace that he continued to rule. One of the most significant items of imperial insignia during the eighth and ninth centuries was the akakia. This was a cloth bag which contained a small amount of dust and which the emperor carried in formal procession to remind himself of his mortality. In the portrait of Leontius (A.D. 695-698), for example, the emperor is shown with his right arm raised holding the akakia as if he is about to throw it (no. 138). The gesture is related to an earlier practice in which consuls opened the consular games by throwing a napkin-like object known as a mappa. Imperial portraits on solidi can include other insignia, chief among them being the scepter. The oldest form of imperial scepter, going back to the Roman period, was the eagle-headed scepter or scipio (no. 140). This form of scepter was later supplanted in popularity by a scepter topped with a cross (no. 142).

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